Every couple of days, I google “Jonathan Langford No Going Back” just to see what’s out there. It’s kind of a game to see if I can locate something that Google Alert hasn’t already told Chris Bigelow (my publisher) about. Usually I don’t find anything. But today there was a link to a review in the Spring 2010 GLBTRT Newsletter, a publication of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Round Table of the American Library Association. Here’s what it said:
Archive for the ‘Reviews of No Going Back’ Category
ALA GLBTRT Review of No Going Back
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010Writing Mormon Literature for a non-Mormon Audience
Friday, March 26th, 2010It’s always interesting seeing what non-Mormon readers of No Going Back have to say about the book. For one thing, it includes an awful lot of Mormon detail. Since I never imagined that it might have a large non-Mormon audience, I didn’t go to any trouble to explain that detail. No real accommodations for any readers who don’t happen to be Mormon.
At a more basic level, I’ve wondered if non-Mormons would even be able to identify with the characters and their motivations. Sure, there’s a lot of universality to the basic conflicts in the book. Every teenager struggles with issues of identity and peer pressure. Every married couple struggles with issues of communication and priorities. But that doesn’t necessarily make the particulars of one person’s conflict easy to identify with on the part of readers whose lives are very different.
Hometown Review
Friday, March 19th, 2010A sad thing I’ve learned since No Going Back was published is just how few newspapers actually publish book reviews anymore. One reason I’m so spoiled in this regard is that my own hometown newspaper, the River Falls Journal (serving a city of about 15,000) has its own weekly book review column by Dave Wood—who also just happens to be the former book review editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and past vice president of the National Book Critics Circle. Our local library has a shelf specifically featuring books Dave has reviewed, many of which have a local or regional connection.
A few weeks ago, I gathered up my courage and gave Dave a call (you can tell it’s a small-town paper when they list the columnist’s home telephone number). He said to drop off a copy of No Going Back, dismissing my concerns that it might not be all that interesting for non-LDS readers. And this week, a positive review appeared in my local paper. (Sadly, the link to the online version that was working earlier today now takes one to a page where one must log in to see the review. Pout.)
Review of No Going Back in U of U Paper
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010A positive review of No Going Back was published in today’s issue of The Daily Utah Chronicle, the newspaper of the University of Utah.
Positive Review at A Motley Vision
Thursday, February 4th, 2010Earlier today, a positive review of No Going Back was posted at A Motley Vision: Mormon Arts and Culture blog. That’s one of the blogs where I hang out, so the positive response is particularly gratifying.
NGB Article in BYU Daily Universe
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010On January 19, 2010, the Daily Universe, BYU’s student newspaper, ran a feature article on No Going Back that made the paper’s front page, sharing headlines with Haiti. They’d interviewed me the week before, and apparently also contacted Rex Goode, whose discussions on AML-List helped spark my initial ideas for the story, and Steve Walker, my old BYU English professor who read and endorsed the book in glowing terms.
Positive Review by Danyelle Ferguson
Friday, January 8th, 2010LDS author, editor, reviewer (and mom) Danyelle Ferguson was reluctant to look at No Going Back for a variety of reasons, but when it came up for consideration for shortlisting in the Whitney Awards category for which she’s a committee member, she felt she had to give it a chance.
Top Ten Reasons Why No Going Back Is a Great Read!
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009Yeah, I’m still on Christmas break. But I couldn’t resist the temptation to post something. And so…
Getting comments from readers of my novel has given me a new appreciation of Tolkien’s observation that elements of his book that “are to some a blemish are all by others specially approved.” Despite this, it seems to me that there have been some common themes among those who like my book. The following list, then represents (in unranked order) my summary of some of the top reasons why I think No Going Back is worth reading — based on reader responses to date, together with my own thinking. (Or — to put it another way — no one else seems to be beating down the door to list all the reasons why my novel is wonderful, so I need to do it myself.) Please feel free to read, respond, and (hopefully) add reasons of your own! (more…)
What Keeps Readers Away
Monday, November 30th, 2009I’ve been wondering recently just what it is that keeps some readers from wanting to look at No Going Back, prompted in part by several comments on a blog from people who said they’d seen descriptions of the book and decided they didn’t want to read it. One of them will now be reading the book and writing a review. I’ll be interested to find out what she thinks of it, and whether her fears/presuppositions turn out to be justified. (This was originally written several weeks ago. See below for the rest of the story.)
In the meantime… What is it about my book that pushes some people — natural members of the audience I’m trying to reach with the book (adults, readers, believing members of the LDS faith) — away from a choice to read?
Annette Lyon: NGB Avoids “Didactic Landmine”
Monday, January 18th, 2010I was reading a post over at the AML blog by Annette Lyon, an author of six LDS novels, when I started to get nervous. She was talking about the importance of not writing didactically, where the message drives the story. I was wondering what she would think of my novel, when I encountered the following:
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Tags: Annette Lyon, Association for Mormon Letters, blogging, Jonathan Langford, Mormon, No Going Back, preachiness, reader comments, realism, Reviews of No Going Back, writing process
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